The new iPhone doesn't really do anything that the old iPhone doesn't do.

And none of these people will be substantially better off once they get the new iPhone.

And yet, for a variety of reasons--one of which may include the most effective corporate brainwashing campaign in the history of mankind--these thousands and thousands of people around the world are, once again, trading valuable hours of their lives to wait in line for the new iPhone.

In the 1960s, a whole generation of young people made an idealistic pilgrimage to Woodstock, New York, for a rock concert that symbolized the hope and dreams of an era. A few decades later, when perspective provided some clarity, it finally dawned on everyone what had really gone on in those fields: A bunch of kids had spent days boozing it up, getting stoned, and slopping around in the mud.

Someday, the thousands upon thousands of folks who will end up spending days of their lives waiting in iPhone lines may wake up and come to a similar realization.

They don't call it the "reality distortion field" for nothing.

(Of course, it's probably more productive than sitting on the couch and watching TV. And the folks waiting on lines will soon be helping to stimulate consumer spending, economic growth, jobs, and all that. So, ignore this crotchety old dinosaur and go find a line to wait in!)